The Real Deal
by Roxie Zephyr Jocelyn
Summary: Ikari Gai had always dreamed of becoming a superhero. He was now Gokai Silver of the Gokaigers; he was living his dream. And, the reality was very far from his every fantasy.


A/N: The fascinating characters of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger do not belong to me. Spoilers for Episode 37 of the series.

Info:

Goseiger – Tensou Sentai Goseiger, the 34th Super Sentai. They are members of the Gosei Angels whose mission is to protect Earth.

Shinkenger – Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, the 33rd Super Sentai. The Red of this super sentai is Shiba Takeru, the current Head of the Shiba Clan who has suppressed the presence of the evil Gedoushu from taking over Earth for generations. The rest of the team are his vassals, who have been trained to fight with the Head of the Shiba clan in such battles.

[1] A quote taken from Episode 37 of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

[2] A quote taken from Episode 37 of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

[3] A quote taken from Episode 37 of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

[4] A quote taken from Episode 37 of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

The Real Deal

It had been always been Ikari Gai's dream to become a super sentai member; a fantasy he had held on to from his days of bouncing on his father's knee as a wide-eyed child.

Gai lived and breathed stories about the super sentai; the heroes who had fought against the most evil of enemies to protect Earth. As a child, he listened eagerly as his father showed him newspaper clippings, yellowed with age, regaling him with tales of legendary feats. As he grew up, admiration became ambition; Gai wanted to become someone who was like one of these superheroes. He might not have had the power, but it didn't stop him from emulating their nobility, their honour, their courage in his lifestyle.

He hadn't feared death; it was a dream he was prepared to die for.

And, he was rewarded for it. Sacrificing himself to save a child – and landing in the hospital with a coma – he had been bestowed with a power unlike any other; the chance to use the powers of the legends he had admired, adored, worshiped all his life.

The chance to become a superhero himself.

More than that, it gave him the chance to belong to a super sentai of his own.

Even as he had admired the previous super sentai because of their courage and heroism, there was a part of him that envied their bonds to each other. They didn't just fight to protect Earth; they fought also to protect each other, back-to-back, weapon with weapon, a team that stood strong against whatever evil fate had thrown at them, against them. They were never alone; always together, fighting together, laughing, living with each other.

They believed in each other; they would die for each other.

And, they had absolute faith in their Red; their leader, the one who had been chosen to lead them, the one whom they would follow to death and beyond.

The one who had been entrusted with their hopes, their dreams, their lives.

The one they had entrusted with their hopes, their dreams, their lives.

And, Gai envied that, wanted that; wanted friends whom he could share his dreams of heroism with, wanted comrade in arms who understood his need to fight and protect, who would put their lives on the line with him.

Who would give their lives with him for a cause that was worth the sacrifice.

He wanted a leader whom he could look up to, a leader whom he could believe in, a leader whom he could follow into battle, a leader whom he could fight for.

A leader who was worth dying for.

With such strong feelings trapped in his body, in his heart, it wasn't surprising that he was desperate to join the Gokaigers when he first learnt about them; everything pointed to them as the team that would, should, be his.

It was his dream after all.

Sure, the Gokaigers hadn't been what he had expected. They weren't guardian angels sent to protect Earth like the Goseigers or noble samurai who had guarded Earth for generations like the Shinkengers; they were pirates, treasure-hunting space pirates who had sailed to Earth because they had come looking for the Greatest Treasure in the Universe, with no concern for Earth or the survival of its people against the Zangyack Empire.

But, they had stayed and they had fought; they had bled for Earth and they had proven themselves worthy successors of, not only the power that was rightfully theirs as the 35th super sentai team, but also of the power, the legacy, of their predecessors that had come before them.

And, they had accepted Gai, quirks and all, without hesitation – after he had proven himself to Captain Marvelous – without doubt, without question; they had given him a place to belong.

Gai was proud to call himself Gokai Silver, proud to be a member of the Gokaigers.

And, he was proud to call Marvelous-san his Red; the man whom he had proven himself to, the man who had proven himself worthy in Gai's eyes. He was reckless, often flinging himself headlong into danger without a backward glance, but in the same breath, he would never willingly endanger his crew, fighting ferociously in their defense, for their protection. With sheer charisma and a mischievous smirk, he led his crew, swords swinging, guns blazing, fighting tooth-and-nail to make their dreams a reality.

Marvelous-san was a man that Gai had come to admire and adore, a man who had become, in his mind, body and soul, his leader.

His captain.

And, Gai had been prepared to follow his captain to his death.

What he hadn't counted on, in all his fantasizing and all his daydreaming, was that his Red would actually leave him behind, not because Gai couldn't catch up, but because Gai had entrusted his life to him.

What Gai hadn't counted on was that, just as Gai was willing to die for his Red, his Red, his captain, Marvelous-san was willing to die for him.

Gai had always envied the bonds the super sentai to with other. They didn't just fight to protect Earth; they fought also to protect each other, back-to-back, weapon with weapon, a team that stood strong against whatever evil fate had thrown at them, against them. They were never alone; always together, fighting together, laughing, living with each other.

They believed in each other; they would die for each other.

He had never considered what it would be like to be the one his teammates, his comrades, his friends died for.

Gai had always wanted a leader whom he could look up to, a leader whom he could believe in, a leader whom he could follow into battle, a leader whom he could fight for.

A leader who was worth dying for.

He had never considered what it would be like to be the one his leader considered worth dying for.

The one his captain would die to protect.

It had been always been Gai's dream to belong to a super sentai team; a fantasy he had held on to from his days of bouncing on his father's knee as a wide-eyed child.

But, even as his heartbeat thundered in his ears, even as his blood still boiled from the adrenaline of the battle, even as bare flesh stung where harsh concrete bit into his skin, Gai could only feel a desperate terror that turned his entire body into ice, freezing him from within, his eyes locked on the destruction of Gokai-Oh.

This was no fantasy.

_'So, this is it.' _[1]

This was the real deal.

_'You guys escape!' _[2]

And, Gai had never considered what it would be like for fantasy to become reality.

_'These are your captain's orders!' _[3]

Gai hadn't feared death; it was a dream he was prepared to die for.

He had never considered that that death would not be his own.

_'MARVELOUS-SAN!' _[4]


End file.
